Muhammad Awal Khan has stepped down as the managing director (MD) of controversy and loan scam-hit BASIC Bank.
The bank’s Chairman Alauddin A Majid said that Awal submitted the resignation letter on August 14, but the Board of Directors would make the final decision on the matter in the next meeting.
Majid said: “The government will look into the matter too. If his (Awal) resignation letter is approved, then we will have to look for a new MD.”
Awal has given a three-month notice to the board following protocol, he said, adding that Awal will be able to either continue working until the end of the third month or join somewhere else based on what the board decides.
“However, the matter will have to be discussed with the government too.”
Awal Khan had joined as the BASIC Bank MD on November 1 last year for three years.
His resignation, however, comes at a time when the state-run bank is struggling following a Tk2,654 crore loss in the past four years. Twenty-one of the bank’s 68 branches are suffering from losses, according to Bangladesh Bank data.
According to a central bank report, about Tk4,500 crore was swindled out of BASIC Bank through loan frauds during the four-year tenure – 2009 to 2013 – of Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu, the then chairman.
At present, the bank has Tk8,594 crore in defaulted loan.
After the matter came to light, the central bank sent its report on 14 July, 2014 to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) about the detail of the embezzlement and found Bacchu's illegal influence in all the illegal activities.
The ACC had filed 56 cases with three police stations in Dhaka accusing more than 100 individuals, including 26 bank officials, in September 2015. It filed five more cases last year.
The then board of the bank was dissolved following a government decision, and Majid and Khondokar Md Iqbal were appointed as chairman and MD, respectively.
After Iqbal’s term ended on September 28 last year, Awal Khan was made the new MD.
Previously, Awal had served as the MDs of state-run Bangladesh Krishi Bank and Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank, and deputy managing director of Agrani Bank Limited.
